General discussion about how the process happens for you

[joey2000]

Pure curiosity/conversation piece.

I suspect for most it varies a lot. I've had songs I've tinkered on for years...and songs I wrote in all of about 10 minutes. Ideas typically come often from out of nowhere. A phrase I hear, a picture I see, something I'm thinking about driving down the road, etc.

And it's funny how I almost always have either an idea and get something down for lyrics, or for the music......almost never both at the same time.

You?

 

[miroslav]

No real "process" here.
It's just something that happens...could be the melody, could be a piece of lyric.
Sometimes it just pops in my head from...???...other times I might be working on one song, and subconsciously I start to hear something else buried in there that give me an idea for another song...etc.

The only time it becomes a "process"is when I sit down to actually finish writing it after the ideas come.
Then it becomes more of a pure craft thing...just beat on it until it's completed, and then go record.

Sometimes when I have most of the song, but only the general idea of the lyrics, I may push forward and actually record all the tracks except the lyrics...and then write them against the recorded tracks, rather than with just a guitar in hand or at the piano.
I think that can work well when you have a strong lyric/melody idea...but then let the instrumental stuff set the stage for how the lyric/melody will fit. IOW, use the instrumental tracks to work off of.

At the end of the day...whatever works, whatever it takes.

 

[Greg_L]

There is no process. My awesomeness just happens naturally because I'm naturally awesome.

 

[famous beagle]

It's never the same for me, but one thing will happen more often than not. I'll usually get, say, a verse and a chorus pretty quickly. Then that song will sometimes sit for years (and I mean sometimes 10 years) before I finally get around to finishing it. For every one song I finish, I probably have about 35 or 40 that are in the process. I'm somewhat prolific at starting songs, but terrible at finishing them.

To more specifically answer your question, I'll usually get a lyric idea first and then quickly come up with the first part as mentioned. When it happens that I just get a melody or music idea first, I have a really hard time finding lyrics for it.

 

[joey2000]

I'm somewhat prolific at starting songs, but terrible at finishing them.

lol - I bet you have a lot of company And for the hopeless tinkerers among us, it can be a hideous problem...

To more specifically answer your question, I'll usually get a lyric idea first and then quickly come up with the first part as mentioned. When it happens that I just get a melody or music idea first, I have a really hard time finding lyrics for it.

Yeah I generally find that lyrics are easier than melodies and other aspects of the music creation in general (what kind of rhythm accompaniment do I want in the background, what instruments etc). Getting into it really gave me a much greater appreciation for those who do it well. I often think how I'd like to go up to them and say "how the heck did you come with doing it this or that way?"

 

[Xdrummer]

My process is almost always the same. I write 90% on acoustic guitar (but as I'm composing I'm hearing a "band" arrangement.

I develop a chord progression on guitar and start to "scat" sing a melody with partial words or an occasional phrase. At some point the muse offers a lyrical "hook" (which often may be either the song title or a solid 1st line). I then start to build the lyrical story line, fine tuning the melody as I develop words/phrases. Normally, if I don't think I have a good 1st line and a solid hook, then I don't feel the song has potential.

While I have maybe 5-6 chord progressions/melodies that I have not yet come up with lyrics for (a couple of which may be 3-4 years old) - for the most part, if I can't get at least 1/2 of a song together in one sitting (perhaps a verse and chorus - or - maybe two verses) then I tend to let the song die a dignified death.

I've written for a lot of years and while it took me a while to learn to accept - I now feel if a song does not want to be written - I no longer try to force it. Now if I really feel I have a strong melody or an interesting chord progression, or if for whatever reason I really feel a song has potential - I may commit a couple of sessions to try to make it happen - but I've found that if I can't find a lyrical story line or if an interesting character has not come to me fairly quickly - then the song probably does not want to be written (at least not by me)

 

[MrUserNameIV]

There is no process. My awesomeness just happens naturally because I'm naturally awesome.

Sure, but when your awesome becomes awesomer, does that change your method?

 

[joey2000]

Nah you stay with what brung ya there